I'm impressed. So many lite RPG's leave so much out, they are only good for one sitting or you have to make up more rules than they provide. BBF packs alot of material in 80 pages, way more than I expected. The core book contains everything you would expect; character creation (d10 based), weapons, armor, equipment, spells, a GM guide, monsters, an adventure creator, a world map and more. The core book also came with a free adventure (at least from DTRPG). I love the simple mechanics (percentile and d10), and character generation is a breeze (5d10 +30 for 4 abilities). If there is a down side, it would be that beginners may need an assist from a more experienced gamer to help figure out how to use the "open" description spells and skills. Lets face it, we are all used to a long list of individual spells or skills, not a sentance saying "you can do all of this". There is a good amount of BBF support material available for download; adventures, spell cards, status cards, and fantays settings. I'm very happy with what I've purchased so far. Wish I could have gotten it all in a bundle... This is very playable for new and experienced gamers.

I bought this after a bunch of research to introduce a friend to role playing games. BareBones Fantasy is a really nice "lite" RPG, which lets the GM and players concentrate on playing their characters. Production values are good, as with all DwDStudios projects. The system is simple but best of all it introduces the DwD moral code and character descriptors, which give a baseline (not requirements) for players to use to gain extra experience by role playing their characters according to how they were designed.

My players loved it and never want to play a game that doesn't have some version of the moral code and decriptors.

What a great product! There's a great elegance to the rules-liteless of the product, the percentile 2d10 system is a breeze and the classless "skills-are-classes" system really clicks with me, as it allows for mixing and matching class features as you progress. The second part of the book has some great generators and ideas and can really come in handy. Easy recommendation if you're up for something lighter that is not quite FATE (and thank God!).

I'm very happy with the pdf version of this game and am also anxiously awaiting my printed copy. There have been many other reviews of this game that cover the basics, so I won't repeat it all again here. This is my first real "Lite" fantasy rpg. I've played hundreds of the other kind. I was introduced to DwD by my interest in Covert Ops. I noticed it was basically the same system and said, "Wow. It's like old RoleMaster without all the serious complications." It also reminds me of the old Warhammer FRP that my friends and I played for months on end back in high school.

I admire what DwD is doing with this game. Compared to most, it is extremely open to new ideas and very expandable. Right now, I think the one thing this game needs more than anything is a monster manual, beastiary, creature compendium, or whatever you want to call it. More monsters, darnit! I would also like to see some different spinoff settings and campaigns. A Barebones rendition of Oriental Adventures would be outstanding.

The other thing I love about this game is the incredible amount of support this game has from the company in one form or another. The authors regularly contribute to the forums. The gaming license for this is very open and inviting and I think it is unbelievably cool that the authors are asking for such a high level of contributions.

+Complete.
+Easy to run.
+Zip file comes with a lot of extras.
+Requires little to no rule book referencing because the rules are easy to memorize.
+Fast and simple character creation.
+Easily handles any situation.
+Emphasizes the old school concept that the GM has the final word.
+Great for theater of the mind play, but adaptable to miniatures/battle board style play.
+Adventure generator.
+Dungeon generator.
+Simple and flexible magic system.
+A great deal for the money.
+I had an absolute blast running a one on one with my Wife.

Mechanics- BareBones Fantasy is a d100 extremely rules light RPG. Let's give this system a full run down.

Character Creation- Each player has four stats: strength, dexterity, wisdom, and logic that range from 35 to 100. Players also choose a primary and a secondary class that ranges from clerics, fighters, scouts, wizards, thief or others. Each class has an associated stat that is equal to the base stat divided by two. You add extra to your primary class and a little less to your secondary classes as this represents some additional training of your character. In addition, each player adds extra to one class that is chosen as their first rank or level. Even if a player doesn't choose fighter, scout, or thief, you calculate the scores for those classes as they serve as the default for several skills like attacking, perception, or stealth, respectively. Spell casters also get to choose spells. The system also has some built in role-playing mechanics with descriptors that provide opportunities for role-playing with experience benefits and moral code to help a player consider how their character would react in each different situation.

Dice Mechanics and Skills- This games dice mechanics is a mixture of push your luck and running a race by yourself. Each turn a player gets two free actions: a move and an action. The action ranges from looking for traps to attacking. To do any action, a player tries to roll under either the class skill or ability stat with a d100. While a character may get some penalties from attacking some enemies, the roll is largely dependent on the characters stats hence running a race against yourself. To move further than their normal movement, the character tried to roll under their dexterity score. To attack with a sword, a player rolls under their warrior-melee score. To defend against this attack, a character or monster would roll under their strength or dexterity score. The push your luck aspect comes from how many actions you want to perform each turn. After the first free action each turn, a character may perform as many actions as they want, but each action adds a -20% modifier to the characters score. Thus if a character had a warrior score of 70%, for first attack in the round, the player would need under a 70% to hit, the second, 50%, third, 30%, and fourth, 10%. This presents and interesting press your luck aspect of this RPG. Also, a factor to keep in mind, dodging is an action you talk off turn, so, if you want to dodge after that third attack from above, you would have a -60% to your skill since it would be your fourth action that turn! Does your character think they can kill that dragon this turn with that fourth attack, or, should that character just save up some actions to dodge? I love how this makes players think and choose! Additional, some other aspects cause penalties like cover or disadvantage conditions that halves the score you must roll under.

Damage and Armor- The system only uses D10's. Weapon damage is all d10 based. Short bow? 2d10 +1. Longbow? 2d10 +3. The interesting aspect of this game is all weapons are useable by all classes, but if your strength is too low, you lose one of the d10's with that weapon. For a longbow, if your strength is less than a 65, the longbow only does d10+3. On the other side of damage, armor doesn't add to your defense value, it subtracts from damage. Also, since the system is largely classless, every character can wear all the armor types. An elf wizard can wear full plate armor, however, if a character does not have a high enough strength score, then that character can't move as far and can't cast spells. Man do I love more choice and freedom!

Spells-It wouldn't be fantasy without spells. Clerics, wizards, and enchanters all get access to spells. A character gets to cast as many spells as they choose following the rules for attacks with increasing penalties for each spell cast after the first. Each rank in the spell casting class provides gives increasing penalties to defend against the spell.

My thoughts- I really like this system. It reminds me of old school DnD and Numenera. It's more rules heavy then Numenera but extremely rules light. It takes 10 minutes to build a character even for four completely new players who have never even heard of the system before. The push your luck aspect of the game is something new in an RPG. I really enjoy the breath of fresh air that brings even at low levels. It's not perfect as the class that does negotiations isn't a base classes so technically no one can do diplomacy until they have at least one rank in that class. But the system is easy to play and easy to DM, perfect for a rules light RPG. 4.5/5

Theme- Its fantasy. The base book is pretty easy to read, and has a bit of story and world. I wouldn't call it an epic setup for a world as its less than 10 pages, but I would put it above the Pathfinder base book. It gives you ideas how to play and set up your worlds. It does describe its own world, but that is a few pages. It's an interesting world that gets fully fleshed out in the setting book for the system. 4.5/5

Execution-Let's be honest, I bought this RPG for one reason-Its shaped like a comic book graphic novel. There, I said it. If you picked up the Rat Queens graphic novel and this book, you would be hard pressed to tell the difference. This system was designed to be rules light and weight light. Each book for this system is a quick, easy read that fits in standard comic book bag. I LOVE this. The outside of the book give this system an attraction that your standard Paizo/WotC books don't have any more. Paizo/DnD hardcovers are not bad, but, they are something that every system copies. DwD Studios went a completely different direction and that really drew me in. Inside the book is well written, easy to skim, and well designed. If you get the PDF's you get AWESOME character generation pages. You honestly DON'T need the book to make a standard character with the quick rules summaries you get. For a group starting out with one copy of the book, that's wonderful and will encourage the group to play a lot and get more books. 5/5

Summary-If you want a really simple, rules light RPG that comes out of left field, you can't go wrong with this one. As a GM, I loved running this. This system has few if any fiddly bits for an old school RPG. My players loved the quick nature of this game as well as pushing their luck to the very limit. In one game, I had a wizard try to cast a spell when she could only succeed on 9 or less. That is pure fun. The whole system's cheap, and I met with the people who created the game. They are great, local guys who are making an excellent product. If you are looking for a quick game this weekend and want a new product to fill a void, give this a whirl. I've liked what I've seen and I can't wait to see what's next. 93%

If you have read the other reviews, you have a pretty good picture of what this game is. It is a simple, easily understandable system. The rules are basically percentage based, so you know exactly what your odds going into any task. The game states one of the best things ever said to a novice role playing gamer: Go to a local shop, find a group, and learn there how to play rpgs, then come back and play BareBones Fantasy. With an awesome beginners' game right here on my desk, And every other game I have ever downloaded or bought, clear back to the red and blue boxes of yore have all the chapters about what a role playing game is and how you play, so the choice to omit these obligatory chapters is a bold, but sensible one.

Rules light, with an old school feel in the right places, tis is a really great game.

The touches about the setting are light enough that you could use them or drop them as you see fit. The races are limited to the basic four of every fantasy game, but like the setting, have an expansion to cover much more information. There are also new rules and new ideas in the free Decahedron magazine which is slated as a quarterly release support. Play by the core book or expand it with the Flesh and Blood and Kerenak Kingdoms books, either or both or neither one, and you will be fine.

What can I say that hasn't already been said? It really accomplishes a lot of things at once. It is a great entry point for new gamers, including preteens, and is a blast for old school gamers as well. It recreates the Red Box feel and simplicity while adding more character customization without making it more difficult.

Character creation is easy for even new players, and the game mechanics are fast and efficient without being too simplistic. It is advertised as a rules light game, but it tends to get very close to the rules medium arena, which is just right for me. I have my teen kids playing this now, and they love it. It's also easy to houserule and create your own game out of it. The whole BBF line is so good, I bought it all! Including the new Covert Ops game line.

I'm ashamed it took me so long to get back to RPGNow to review this one.

This is the best rules lite fantasy game I've ever had the pleasure of playing. The rules are damned easy to grok and their use in play is intuitive and fast. There's an included setting but honestly you could use this game to run just about any fantasy setting you can imagine.

For anyone interested in an original and extremely well made fantasy RPG, grab this. Many people call it a light game, but in reality it is actually a medium complexity game that is written so intuitively that it feels rules-light. It is almost as complex as Savage Worlds, but it is more compact and excellently organized.

The system itself is a straightforward, but unique, roll under d% game. The unique part is that classes (warrior, cleric, spellcaster, etc.) are skills. In order to be better at fighting, you raise your warrior skill. In order to learn more spells, raise your spellcaster skill. It is quite ingenious and a hell of a lot of fun.

The magic system is also unique. There are only a handful of spells, 17 I believe. However, each spell is flexible in effect based on the caster's desires. Spells also increase in power and effectiveness as the caster gains levels in his spellcaster (or cleric) skill. Another unique touch is the enchanter class/skill that allows you to make potions, magic items, and use rune magic.

The races are the standard Tolkien inspired Human, High Elf, Halfling, and Dwarf. Their statistical adjustments have a moderate impact on the character and an important choice during character creation. There is another book for this game, called Flesh and Blood I believe, that has many more races if you need more.

To top it off, the book contains a random idea/adventure generator and the skeleton of a setting for GM's to use as the frame work for a campaign. There is a separate setting book that expands it a bit further if you find it to your liking. The monster section is fairly small, but it covers all the basics and gives some templates to help create some critters if you need more. Monster stat blocks are not complicated.

All in all, it is an excellent book for a decent price. It has just pushed out Savage Worlds for my favorite in the fantasy genre. I must note, that due to how print-on-demand books are produced I would recommend the softcover rather than the hardcover version.

This game and it's setting have reminded our group why we loved RPGs in the first place. Easy to learn, but with subtle depths, it is all you could want in a rules light system. In fact, because it is rules light and the setting is broad brushstrokes, everyone at the table has ownership of the world and how it can develop. I would but anything DwD publishes for this game!

BBF does a remarkable job being both rules lite and very complete. Honestly, you could indeed play with nothing more than this slim tome alone for years. The skill system is very complete and easily tweaked for personal campaigns. Everything is rather straight forward mechanically, adding your own rule options and sub systems is a breeze. I really hope to see the system makes its transition into other genres too.

So. Much. Fun.
...And so simple!
I can recommend this product to veteran gamers as well as to any GM wishing to obtain new players in order to introduce them to the world of Pen&Paper RPGs.

I must say I live and play this game in Germany. Yes, you guys made it over the pond!! I was able to get a newbie gamer to play this game who isn't good at English at all. She understands and likes the system and she keeps asking me to GM more and more adventures using this system.

You should really have this translated to several languages!

Thank you for this wonderful system and all the great time it gave us.

I had the honour of playing this while it was still in playtest, and I have played it since, as well as GMing a session.
So much of the system is a brilliant distillation of core Fantasy gaming concepts into a really smooth and fast-playing rules set. The Class es keyed to each of the Ability Scores makes creating a non-confining character which still has the convenience of class-construction and even faster than anything outside of Microlite20 or WMR.

The creature construction guidelines make for very simple, low to no-prep encounter fine tuning, and coupled with a very exciting combat system, the 'meat and potatoes' of Fantasy gaming is held up to a high standard for other systems to aspire.